Hello all! We just arrived in Philadelphia the other day but somehow September disappeared and now we’re in Zurich. How did that happen? We had a really good time in Philadelphia. Brenda and I kept Rowan busy with trips to the library, children’s museum, natural history museum, and the zoo, and we also picked up some cool Hot Wheels cars for Rowan to play with around the apartment. During our last week there my parents came to visit and to see Brenda’s show. (We count ourselves lucky to have parents who are willing to travel all over the place to come see us. We’re looking forward to Brenda’s parents coming to Germany in just a few weeks.) Rowan and I also joined my parents in New Jersey to see my Aunt Ann and her family. It was wonderful seeing them. I wish we got to do it more often.
Brenda’s performances in Philadelphia went really well. She sang the title role in
Lucia di Lammermoor, which, as you may recall, she also performed in Santa Fe in the summer of 2017. (If you’ve managed to see the new documentary about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg then you’ve seen a bit of Brenda’s Santa Fe performance.) The new production of
Lucia di Lammermoor in Philadelphia was outstanding, and the stellar cast didn’t hurt anything. It ended up being one of the best opera performances I’ve ever seen.
The New York Times reviewed the performance, and a picture of Brenda appeared on the front page of the Arts section. As you can see it’s a picture of her laying on the ground covered in blood, but still, how cool is that?
Brenda on stage after a performance. Opera Philadelphia’s theater, the Academy of Music, is absolutely beautiful.
So now we’re in Zurich. Brenda is making her house debut in this beautiful city singing Konstanze in Mozart’s
Die Entführung aus dem Serail. I was in Zurich briefly sixteen years ago, but I didn’t get much of a chance to see the city. Since arriving a few days ago, we’ve done a good job of exploring the neighborhood we’re staying in. Lake Zurich is a block away and there are two playgrounds and a library nearby. There should be plenty to keep Rowan entertained until we return to Frankfurt in two weeks.
From what we’ve seen of Zurich so far, it is a gorgeous city.
So that’s what we’ve been up to. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and we’ll talk to you again soon!
